


Boys And Marriages

by camichats



Series: Imagine James and Sirius Prompts [172]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Casual Sex, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Misunderstandings, Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), Sexual Content, Slytherin Sirius Black, Time Skips, Trans Sirius Black, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:40:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26762974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Sirius has to get married to James Potter. James, who he is sure hates him. That he has to do it before he's even graduated doesn't help, and he doesn't like living in Potter Mansion. Not one bit.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Sirius Black/James Potter
Series: Imagine James and Sirius Prompts [172]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/752925
Comments: 13
Kudos: 176





	Boys And Marriages

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: “Arranged marriage but they think that the other hates them”

“You have _got_ to be joking,” Sirius said immediately, looking between his parents for any sign that they’d attempted humor for the first time in their lives. They hadn’t. 

“I know you do not want this, but it is necessary.” 

“Why?!” he cried indignantly. 

Orion didn’t look the least bit annoyed by his firstborn’s reaction. The same couldn’t be said for Walburga; she was _obviously_ annoyed with him. “Your mother did nothing to hide her support for the rising Dark Lord. With him gone, we now need damage control. You always knew this would happen, Sirius,” he added almost kindly. 

“Yeah, but- but that was supposed to be years from now, not before I graduated!” He sounded hysterical, and he couldn’t bring himself to care or stop. Orion had reasserted control in his household, which, fortunately for Sirius, meant no more of Walburga doing whatever she wanted disguised as discipline. He would have run away if he’d had somewhere to go, and almost had last summer anyways. That didn’t mean he was suddenly living in paradise, but at least he didn’t feel like he was being tortured anymore. Orion at least had stopped Walburga from constantly buying him skirts. “Can’t we at least wait until after that?” he begged. He rarely begged without coercion, but he would beg as much as he had to for this. He was only seventeen! An adult _technically_ , but by no stretch of the imagination was he mature enough or ready to be married. 

Orion shook his head, actually looking sad for his son. If Sirius hadn’t been so distracted, he would have been shocked to see that. “The only reason the Potters agreed to this was because they want their heir married as soon as possible.” 

Sirius froze. “Potter? You’re marrying me off to _James Potter_?” he asked in disbelief. 

“Yes,” Walburga snapped, unable to keep her tongue during this- this _spectacle_ Sirius was making. 

“Is there something wrong with that?” Orion asked. He wouldn’t change the plans based on his answer, but he was curious about his son’s reaction. It was no secret the Potter’s were a definite Light family, but he hadn’t heard of the heir mistreating Sirius in any way. 

“Does _he_ know he’s marrying me?” 

“If he does not, he will soon enough. Why?” 

Sirius looked at his father like it was obvious. “He hates me. He hates all Slytherins. There’s no way he’ll agree.” 

“I do not believe he has much choice in the matter.” 

He frowned, panic giving way to curiosity and suspicion. “His parents don’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want.” 

“They have… reconsidered. They did not share their specific reasons with me, but they seem to think that in this matter he would choose someone unacceptable.” 

Sirius thought of Evans, the Gryffindor prefect Potter had been chasing for the entirety of their Hogwarts education, and made a face, thinking that the elderly parents had no reason to worry about her. They must have a different reason, one he didn’t have a chance of guessing without more information. Then his father’s wording caught up to him. “And I count as acceptable?” 

Walburga opened her mouth, no doubt to say something scathing, but a sharp look from her husband made her stop. She decided to leave the room entirely after a moment’s consideration. 

“You are part of an Ancient and Noble House, you are pureblood, and you are capable of bearing children.” Sirius cringed at the last part. “That is acceptable enough for them given the circumstances. Yes they would prefer if you were from a Light family and more… traditional, I assume, but I think this is the best option you will ever have.” 

He hung his head slightly. “Right,” he said bitterly. Today hadn’t been a good day for his body image, but finding out that he was soon to be married sent it into overdrive. 

“Sirius,” Orion said, waiting for his son to meet his gaze before continuing. “This is sooner than you or I wanted, but I do think it is the best option. Potter may hate all Slytherins, but from what I have heard, he has never mocked your gender and that is better than I hoped I could find for you, particularly with this Dark Lord mess. I am not going to call off this betrothal, but I want you to be happy. With Potter, you have a chance.

“The Hat nearly placed you in Gryffindor, and if you had gone there instead, I believe you would have been good friends. This is the best match for both of you.” 

Sirius nodded even though he disagreed, not bothering to ask how his father knew he’d nearly been a lion. It was probably obvious in the way he acted. 

“The meeting is this afternoon, after lunch. You and James,” his mouth quirked upwards slightly saying his first name instead of the last, “will have a chance to talk before we sign anything. Apparently his parents wish to keep up the semblance of choice.” 

Sirius sighed, smoothing a hand over his hair unnecessarily. “When’s the official announcement?” 

“The Potter’s Solstice party.” 

“Oh,” he said faintly. “That’s… soon.” ‘Soon’ felt like an understatement. In one week, he’d be officially engaged, and there was no turning back. Engagements could be broken off in the Wizarding world, but it seldom happened, and it _never_ happened to high profile couples. In the last half a millennia, there were maybe two and both had resulted in blood feuds between the families, as well as social embarrassment for all involved. Sirius was pretty sure he’d get murdered before he was allowed to call off the wedding once they were engaged. 

Orion didn’t know what to say to that, unaccustomed to comforting anyone. He laid a hand on Sirius’s shoulder briefly, then left, leaving him alone in the large, cold room. 

Sirius numbly walked back to his room, then cast a silencing spell and screamed, venting his frustration on any object nearby. When he was done, he was breathing heavily, and only felt marginally better. He repaired everything he’d broken but knew that if he picked any of them up to put in their correct places, he’d end up throwing them again. 

He flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling for hours, though it didn’t feel like it had been that long. Someone knocked on his door and opened it a minute later when he didn’t answer. 

“Sirius?” It was Regulus. “It’s time for lunch.” 

Sirius wordlessly stood and followed him, eating on autopilot and silently getting to his feet when Orion asked him to get dressed for the meeting. 

He got dressed, finally getting his wits back as he moved. He was tempted to wear his favoured muggle attire, but he knew that he’d be forced into robes before the Potter’s showed up. Sometimes, putting up a fight for the sake of it was nice, but he just… didn’t care right now. Getting dressed in the proper clothes wasn’t a fight he felt like having. He did pull his hair back though, figuring that they might let him get away with it. If they didn’t, it would be easy to take down. 

When he walked downstairs, Walburga didn’t even glance at him, and Orion gave him a look to make sure his outfit was appropriate. His eyes lingered on his hair, but he turned back to his book without saying anything. Regulus was the only one with a smile for him, which Sirius returned, flopping on the couch next to his brother to wait for the Potter’s to arrive. 

They sat in dreaded silence-- for Sirius at least-- for several minutes before the bell rang throughout the house, a small crack signalling a house elf’s apparition to the door to answer. Orion stood and they all followed suit. “Try to behave yourself,” he said, but there was no heat behind it, merely the obligation he felt to say it. Personally, Sirius thought they overreacted; he wasn’t half so rebellious as they thought. 

Mipsy led the group of three into the room where the Blacks were waiting, bowing before leaving. The air was tense around them, but Orion, Fleamont, and Euphemia all pretended it wasn’t there. They exchanged greetings, officially presenting Sirius and James respectively, who shared uneasy looks and nods of acknowledgement. 

“How about we let these two talk while we sort out a few details?” Euphemia suggested. 

Regulus was temporarily dismissed and the adults all left them alone in the room to… what, talk? 

“Well this is great,” James said, mussing his somewhat tamed hair that must’ve taken a half hour to get that way. 

Sirius snorted. “Yeah, totally.” 

Silence. 

“So I take it this wasn’t your idea?” James ventured. 

Sirius replied with a harsh bark of laughter and shook his head. “They told me this morning. There wasn’t any ‘choice’ about it, let alone ‘idea’. You?” 

“Mum and Dad told me a few days ago, but I was trying to get out of it. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, but,” he shrugged. 

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Although it was news to him that James didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. Maybe what he meant was that _physically_ there was nothing wrong with him. “So where did this come from? Father said it was your parents who were out looking to marry you off quickly.” 

James made a face. “You know Evans?” 

“That Gryffindor girl you’ve been chasing for the past six years, loudly and publicly? Hard to miss.” 

He didn’t look the least bit bothered by Sirius’s somewhat condescending tone. “Yeah, well, apparently they were worried I’d get married to her or something and wanted to make sure I had pureblooded kids.” 

Sirius blinked. “Tell me you’re joking. We have to get married because your parents are worried about you and _Evans_ getting together? She won’t give you the time of day! It’s more likely that we’d actually _choose_ to marry each other than you’d get a date with her.” 

James rolled his eyes. “Well, _I_ know that. But it took me a little bit to work out what they thought, and by that point they thought I’d say anything to get out of this. No offense,” he added. 

It was Sirius’s turn to roll his eyes. “Please, like I don’t know you hate me.” 

“I don’t hate you.” At Sirius’s disbelieving look, he said, “What? I don’t. I mean, yeah you’re a Slytherin and all that rot, but you seem alright.” 

“A true compliment to be sure,” he replied flatly. 

James scowled. “You look nice.” 

“What?” Sirius said, completely thrown off by the random comment. 

“You look nice,” he repeated. 

“Er, thanks?” 

“You wanted a compliment, so there.” 

“Oh. Thanks,” he said again, more genuinely this time. There was a pause, then Sirius mused, “I wonder what this will do for your reputation.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“We’re doing this to fix ours, but I can’t imagine this will help yours at all. Might make it worse, given that you’re marrying a person from a prominent Dark family, and a disgraced member of it, no less.” 

“You’re not a disgrace,” James said automatically, as if he’d said it innumerable times before. 

Sirius gave him a strange look for that but dismissed it to the back of his mind to think on later. “It’s nice that you think so,” he said airily. “What about at Hogwarts? Once the announcement is out, everyone’s opinion of you will change.” 

He shrugged, completely uncaring. “Fuck them, it doesn’t change anything.” 

Sirius shot him an amused look. “Getting married to someone you hate won’t change anything?” 

“I don’t hate you,” he repeated, looking irritated with him for even thinking it. “What I meant was it won’t change who my friends are, that I’m Quidditch Captain, or how I do in class.” 

“But it will change how the rest of your housemates treat you, what they say to you, and how they act around you. Marrying the prettiest bloke around won’t help you any since he’s in a House you openly despise,” he said with a wink. 

James glared at him, and he was slightly taken aback by how annoyed James seemed to be with him. “Stop doing that.” 

“Doing what?” he asked, genuinely confused. Salazar and his brother said _he_ was an emotional rollercoaster. He had nothing on James. 

“Saying that I hate you. I _don’t_. Merlin, Sirius, the only people that hate you are arseholes.” 

Apparently the basis of James and Sirius’s relationship would be annoying the shit out of each other and lying about obvious truths. “I’m sure,” he said dryly. “Besides, why do you care? We’ll be stuck together whether I believe you hate me or not.” 

He didn’t say anything and averted his eyes. After a minute, Sirius got tired of waiting for an answer. 

“I guess you’ll have to start caring what people say about me now that we’re _betrothed_. Upkeep on your rep and all. Word of advice, Potter-” James held back a wince at being called by his last name “-you can’t hex any- and every- one that insults me because there will be no one left for you to talk to. Just ignore them.” 

James hated that idea, but agreed. “Fine. Oh,” he added, “and call me James.” He waved a hand vaguely. “Getting married and all, no reason to make it confusing when your last name will be the same soon.” 

Sirius tried for a grin but it came out a grimace. He gave up the effort after a few seconds. “Right. Sirius Potter.” They stood in awkward quiet for a minute before Sirius suggested they go to their parents. James readily agreed and they left, keeping a sizable distance between each other. 

* * *

“Moony just _trust me_.” 

Remus looked at him skeptically. “I trust you with me, but I don’t trust you with you.” 

“Are you not making sense on purpose?” 

Remus sighed. He loved James-- really he did-- but he could be obtuse. Hell, Remus had been the one to tell James his obsession with Sirius wasn’t as academic as he assumed. “James,” he said patiently, “just because Sirius isn’t wildly opposed to this doesn’t mean he’s going to…” _fall in love_ “-with you. I don’t want you to get your hopes up and get hurt.” 

“I can be charming,” he said indignantly. 

“Not when you’re trying too hard you can’t.” 

James glared at him, because he knew he was right. If he was capable of wooing someone, then he and Lily would’ve had at least one date, even if it would have turned out wildly unsuccessful. “I’m not saying he _will_ like me, I’m just saying it’s a possibility. He doesn’t hate me, and we’ll be,” James gestured vaguely, “married, so we’ll be around each other all the time. Maybe I’ll grow on him.” 

“Just be yourself. It worked for me and Pete,” he offered. 

“Neither of you fancy me though, we’re just friends,” James grumbled. 

Remus studied him for a minute before deciding that he would say it. “I think you and Sirius being friends is the most probable best case scenario you’re going to get Prongs.” James deflated, looking like a kicked puppy, and Remus wanted to take it back just so he wouldn’t look so sad but restrained himself. Barely. The words were out there, and claiming they were a lie wasn’t going to help him. “Sorry.” 

James shrugged, shoulders tight. “You’re telling the truth. It’s fine to dream sometimes but… well. I wouldn’t want to live the rest of my life waiting and hoping for something that would never happen. But I still think you’re wrong.” 

* * *

Their engagement was announced and everyone at the party was nice about it because that's why they'd been invited. It wasn't _just_ the Potter's Solstice Party; it was their announcement to high society, and the guest list had been adjusted accordingly. Everyone congratulated them, and Sirius had to field a disturbingly high number of women that wanted to talk to him about their wedding night. Telling one to bugger off had ended with her getting insulted and Orion forcing Sirius to apologise. Telling another that he'd already had sex had scandalized her into lecturing him, nevermind that it was a lie. He got in trouble for that one too since Walburga had come up in the middle of the lecture, dragging him away to yell at him in private before returning to the party. After that, he just stood there and sipped at his drink and let them talk themselves hoarse. Normally he would've tried harder to get out of it, but across the room, he saw James getting similar treatment. 

Sirius held onto the vague hope that they would have a long engagement, but it wasn't really a surprise when they ended up getting married a month after announcing their engagement. He was pretty sure that Orion had said something about the Potter parents wanting for James to get married as soon as possible when he was told about this whole bloody situation. Sirius knew that some day he'd have to have sex with James, but he'd let him know in advance not to expect anything on their wedding night. They ended the day with a single kiss from the ceremony, and that was that. 

As a married couple, they had to live together. Neither of their parents were willing to let them live together all on their own when they were about to go to Hogwarts for another year, so Sirius had to move into the Potter mansion. 

He hated it. 

Oh sure it was nicer than Grimmauld Place and there were far less cursed objects to be wary of, but it felt like he was in enemy territory at all times. Him and James shared a room because of course they did, and the entire house wasn't safe from prying eyes. He had nowhere to go and relax. It sure as fuck didn't help that James kept inviting his friends over, so he couldn't even get some sodding quiet on a regular basis. Say what you want about Slytherins, but at least they were quiet. 

And James's mates came by. Every. Bloody. Day. Or _almost_ every day, which was just as bad since he never knew what days he'd have all alone and what days would get crashed by two very loud Gryffindors. In some misguided attempt to either bother him or make him feel included, they talked to him when they were over if he wasn't busy. It meant that Sirius spent a lot of time with Euphemia. She was alright, except for the part where she was trying to teach Sirius how to take care of a household. 

His choices came down to being annoyed by her, or being annoyed by James and his mates. James, for reasons unknown, was still trying to convince Sirius that he liked him alright. So far, he'd been strong armed into learning how to clean dishes, and how to cook two kinds of soup. 

There was some good news amidst all of this. He didn't have to see his parents anymore, which was nice. They sent him a couple letters, but he didn't even have to reply. It was the sort of avoidance he didn't think he'd get for a few more years, and he was loving it. The other good news was that no one here cared how he dressed. No one yelled at him when he pulled back his hair or wore a tee for a muggle punk band. No one gave a shite that he wore denim trousers, and they didn't even get mad when he listened to his music-- he figured they would get mad if he turned it as loud as he really wanted, but they were being pretty nice to him, so he didn't bother testing it. 

He hadn't seen Regulus since moving out. Orion and Walburga were pretty strict on how they saw over break, so it wasn't all that surprising. Disappointing, but not surprising. 

"Sirius?" Euphemia said, one morning when he'd _thought_ he had managed to get out of his spousal lessons to 'work on homework'. He wasn't doing homework; he'd finished it all in the week after they'd gotten married, which was why he'd run out of material to hide behind. He'd decided that reading his transfiguration textbook front to back was a better use of his time than letting Mrs. Potter teach him how to properly season a chicken. 

He'd thought he had a pretty good excuse up until now. He bit back a sigh and looked up at her. "Yes, Mrs. Potter?" 

"You can call me Mum or Euphemia, you know," she reminded him, just as she did every time he called her Mrs. Potter. "Your brother's here to see you." 

Sirius froze, then shot up from his seat, letting the book fall closed without marking his page. "Thanks, Mrs. Potter!" he called, running from the room. He ran to the entryway, where Regulus was standing. He looked horribly out of place here. Without the stone of Hogwarts or the dim, crowded feel of Grimmauld Place, he looked almost... too bright. Sirius was used to seeing him a lot smaller, in more bleak lighting. That was a depressing road he was going down, so he stopped thinking about that and nearly bowled him over with a hug. "Oh Merlin, I am so glad to see you." 

"That bad?" Regulus asked quietly. 

"It's-" Sirius paused. "Better than with our parents, but you're not here and I don't know if you've noticed, but you're kind of my only friend, so it's not like I'm getting a whole lot done without their rules." He saw that Regulus was carrying something now that he let go and had the space to see it. "What's with the bag?" 

"Hm? Oh, some things you left at Grimmauld Place." 

"If I left it there, I probably didn't want it," Sirius said, but he accepted it when Regulus handed it over. He peeked inside, then grinned. It was all the stuff that he couldn't _find_ when he was packing. He knew that Walburga had refused to let him bring some of his belongings with him, thinking that its existence would somehow embarrass her if the Potter's found out about it. She knew that they only way to keep him from bringing some of his shite was if he couldn't find it, so. He'd kind of thought that she'd burned it, so to see that Regulus had rescued all of those items was nothing short of amazing. "Thanks." 

"I'm not sure I managed to get everything," he said apologetically, and Sirius shook his head. 

"This is plenty. Thanks. Can you- I mean, you don't have to go back right away, yeah?" 

"No, I can stay for a while." 

Sirius grinned. "Great. I'll put this away and we can... catch up. Chat. I dunno; we'll think of something." 

"Please. I'm in no hurry to get home." 

"Why? Not that I'm trying to run you off; I could use the company." 

Regulus snorted. "You remember what it's like there, don't you?" 

"Oh. Ha, yeah." 

"Sort of really sucks without you there," Regulus muttered. "Not sure how I'm going to survive another three years there." 

"You can visit." 

"Yeah, but it's not going to be the same." 

Sirius dumped the bag on his side of the bed and turned to leave again. He wanted to get in and out as quickly as he could so that he didn't have to think about the fact that he was sharing a bed with James. 

But Regulus had noticed. "You don't even get your own room?" 

"We're married," Sirius said dismissively. He grabbed Regulus's arm and pulled him from the room. Regulus reluctantly let it happen. Sirius shut the door because otherwise, who knew how long Regulus would stand there staring? 

"You shouldn't have to do that." 

"Shouldn't have to do what?" Sirius asked, looking straight at him. Challenging. _Say what you mean_ , he silently dared. 

Regulus must have learnt some courage since Sirius moved out, because he did. "It's bad enough that you have to live here, and it's even worse that you have to sleep with him, but not getting your own room? You deserve to have some bloody space." 

"What part of married aren't you getting? Besides, it's only for the rest of the summer." 

"Right," Regulus said, rolling his eyes, "I'm sure that once you graduate from Hogwarts, he won't expect anything from you at all." 

"You make it sound like I'm being taken advantage of." 

"Aren't you?" 

"No." They stared at each other for a long moment, neither of them willing to back down. "Whatever. I don't want to argue with you. You want to play a game of Snap?" Sirius started walking down the hallway again, and Regulus followed. 

"You know I hate playing Snap." 

"Fine, we'll be boring old men and play chess. I don't know why you hate Snap; you're good at it." 

"It's too fast. You never have time to just sit and think. Besides, you're the only old one here," Regulus said, elbowing him. 

"I'm not even eighteen," Sirius said, elbowing him back. 

"Yeah, but you're married, that makes you old." 

"You're the one that likes playing chess." 

"Playing chess doesn't make you old," Regulus argued. 

"Keep telling yourself that old man." 

"You're such a shite." 

Sirius grinned at him. "See? I'm reminding you why you're glad I'm gone." 

"Try as much as you want, you won't be able to do it." 

"Aww, I knew you loved me." 

"For Salazar's sake, I'm about to leave you here all alone," Regulus threatened, but there was no heat behind it. 

Sirius hummed. "If you did that, I'd be able to finish reading all my textbooks before the start of them." 

"You're reading your textbooks?" 

"It's not like I have much else I want to be doing," Sirius said with a shrug. 

Regulus didn't say anything. When Sirius glanced at him, his face was drawn. 

"It was just a joke," Sirius said, nudging him. 

"No it wasn't," Regulus said quietly. "That makes it worse." 

"Hey, I agreed to play chess with you; let's drop all this other shite." 

"...Fine." 

* * *

They got through two games-- Regulus won both of them-- and had started on a third when James showed his face. Naturally, it was with his mates at his side. 

"You must be Sirius's brother," James said with an attempt at a warm smile. He fell short. 

"What gave it away," Regulus said flatly. 

"Regulus," Sirius warned. 

Regulus ignored him. "You realise we go to the same school, right Potter? We've met before." 

"Oh. Right." 

"And we saw each other at the wedding." 

"Yeah." James shifted awkwardly. "Well, just wanted to say hi before we went outside." 

Sirius waved, which Peter and Remus returned. It was awkward. They were all trying to make the best of it. Sirius grit his teeth and didn't say anything until they'd all walked away. "What the hell was that?" 

"What?" 

"You were being an arse." 

"He introduced himself to me. We've known each other for _years_. He's a bloody idiot." 

"Who cares? You can't treat him like that." 

"Why, because he's your sodding _husband_? You don't love him. You don't even like him." 

"That doesn't matter. They could stop you from visiting if they want to, and you're egging them on." 

Regulus paused. "They would do that?" 

"I dunno, but I don't want to risk it." 

"That's why you're being like this," Regulus said, leaning back in his chair. He folded his arms over his chest, looking at Sirius like he could see right through him. "You think they're going to treat you like shite if you act like yourself." 

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing, so stop making it harder. After a while, I probably won't have to do it, but for now, I'm going to bloody behave and you should too." 

"Fine." 

"Thank you." 

Regulus shook his head. "I can't believe you're doing this," he muttered. "I sort of thought that you'd never do what someone told you to." 

"Well, times change. I'm adapting." 

* * *

Regulus left, and with him, any sense of happiness that Sirius had managed to work up. He'd pretended he was fine for Regulus, because that's what he always did. Now that he was gone, it was hard for Sirius to convince himself that he was fine with the way things were. He had exactly one friend and it was his brother, and he buggering missed him. 

"You okay?" James asked. His mates had left for the day. His parents had had to go to some fancy party with the other hoity-toity couples of the Wizarding World. 

Sirius was laying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. From the corner of his eye, he could see James sit down in one of the armchairs nearby. "Yeah," Sirius said, not putting much energy into the lie. He was bored. Reading textbooks was exactly as thrilling as it sounded. "D'you know when your parents are getting back?" 

"Party ends at midnight. I think Mum said they were staying the whole time. Why?" 

"You know what we should do?" 

"Er. No. Because we don't really do stuff together. Pretty sure you like to pretend I don't exist." 

He wasn't wrong, so Sirius didn't bother correcting him. He didn't care to make it believable right now. Sirius rolled his head to look at him. "We should have sex." 

James blinked, blushing. "What?" 

"You heard me." 

"But- but I thought you said you didn't want to." 

"Yeah, a month ago. It's different now." 

"Is it? We haven't even- I mean, we haven't kissed or anything." 

"Fine, then let's snog." 

"You want to snog?" 

"It's what I just said innit?" 

"Since when do you want to do that?" 

Sirius propped himself up. "I'm bored." 

"You want to fool around because you're bored?" James repeated doubtfully. 

It wasn't the complete truth. Yes he was bored, but that was mostly an excuse that he was giving James. The honest truth was that Regulus's visit had gotten him thinking. He'd been living in limbo. He hadn't committed to living here and being married to James because he kept hoping that it wouldn't last. Logically, he'd known that it would, but he'd needed an additional nudge. At some point, him and James were going to need to have sex, and... well, he'd gotten used to the idea. "Why are you acting like this bothers you? I've seen you check me out; it's not like you don't find me attractive." 

James's blush deepened. "Well- yeah. But there's a difference between... _that_ , and what you're suggesting." 

"Of course there's a difference. It's a good difference. The difference is both of us getting laid." 

James cleared his throat and shifted a little in his seat. Sirius almost laughed at the realisation that James was getting turned on thinking about it, but he was finally making some progress and he wasn't going to throw it out the window. 

"We don't have to," Sirius said, letting himself fall back down onto the couch. It wasn't innocent flopping; he was giving James a chance to look at him with sex in mind without worrying that Sirius would catch him. "It was just a suggestion." 

James was silent for a minute, mulling it over. "If we did," he said, "it wouldn't... I mean, it wouldn't mean anything to you, right? We'd be the way that we are now?" 

"Right." 

He was quiet for several seconds. "Okay. If you- if you want to, we can." 

"Really?" Sirius asked, looking over at him. He'd been thinking about it for the past couple hours, but he hadn't expected for James to give in so easily. 

James nodded, and Sirius grinned at him. 

"Awesome." 

* * *

Regular sex was pretty nice. It had been awkward as hell the first few times, but for the most part, they'd worked it out. James still thought it was weird that Sirius liked to keep his shirt on. And he didn't really seem to understand why Sirius was cool with being close _while_ they were having sex but didn't like it afterwards. Sirius had a personal bubble, okay? Touching during sex made it good; touching after sex made him feel crowded and uncomfortable. James was pretty content to hug a pillow instead, so it's not like it was a big loss for him. 

Now that Sirius had his favourite stuff back, it was easier to pass the time. He still messed Regulus. He'd been forced to learn how to cook one type of curry, and Mrs. Potter had doubled up on the lesson so he now knew how to bake a chocolate cake, too. 

James would get a birthday cake from him over his dead body. They were sort of getting along now. They didn't talk for fun, but they could at least hold a conversation over dinner. But Sirius wasn't about to bake for him. Combined with the sex, it would probably make James think that Sirius was happy to be married to him. 

He knew what would happen to him if James thought that. Completely and utterly taken for granted. Expected to cook and clean all by himself. Expected to have sex with his dear husband whenever the hell it was requested. 

Yeah. Sirius wasn't doing that. Had James acted like that before? No, but things changed. It was a risk Sirius wasn't going to take. Besides, Mrs. Potter would probably send James some cupcakes on his birthday, so it's not like he'd be suffering or summat. 

"What are we doing when we get to Hogwarts?" James asked one night as they laid in bed. James was hugging his pillow, and Sirius was enjoying his space as he cooled off. 

"What do you mean?" 

"The... sex. Are we going to keep doing it?" 

"Probably," Sirius said, then thought better of it. "I mean, I want to keep doing it. I've gotten used to it." 

"'Gotten used to it'," James repeated, sounding amused. That, at least, was a relief. Back at the start of this, James had been hurt by just about everything Sirius said, thinking that he meant it as a personal attack. He'd calmed down since then, realising that it was how Sirius talked-- also Sirius had told him that if he wanted to insult him, he'd be much more deliberate and direct about it. "Good to know. I guess we'll figure it out once we're there." 

"You act like we can't sneak into each other's dorms." 

James wrinkled his nose. "I'm not going to the Slytherin common room." 

"You're such a baby," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Fine, I'll go to the Gryffindor one. Assuming your roommates won't mind." 

"They'll get over it." 

Sirius snorted. "Glad to see you're such a good person to live with." 

"Hey, you've been doing it for two months, and you've survived." 

"I guess." 

"You guess you've survived?" James said, laughing. 

"Bugger off," Sirius said, shoving at his arm. 

James laughed some more, turning on his side to face him. "I'm pretty happy I married you." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah," he said warmly. 

That smile looked far too sincere. It made Sirius's chest constrict uncomfortably. "I guess I could've married someone worse," Sirius said, and James laughed again. 

"Thanks." 

* * *

They'd been back at school for two days, and Sirius was already tired of it. Post came in the third morning, and Sirius got a rather thick envelope from James's parents addressed to him. When he opened it, he saw that about half of its contents were actually for James. He separated them, then walked over to the Gryffindor table. 

"Do us both a favour and tell your parents to send you your own post instead of shoving it in with mine," Sirius said, sliding it next to James's plate. 

James frowned. "Why did they send it to you?" 

"How the hell should I know? You're the one that's known them your whole life," Sirius said. Then he left, because he didn't actually have anything else to say. 

* * *

Sirius was going to kill James. No arguments. He was going to buggering murder him, and he'd deserve it. He was flirting with Evans. Again. Or perhaps 'still' would've fit better. He was _still_ flirting with Evans, because the last time that they'd all been at school, he'd flirted with her then, too. At no point had he seen her and decided to leave well enough alone. 

Sirius wanted to bash his head in. Did he not remember that he was married? And Sirius was having sex with him! It's not like he was preventing James from getting any action; he _was_ the action. 

Peter was a very good person to have on your side. Sirius knew this because when Peter noticed Sirius walking towards them, looking furious, he tried to get James's attention. Unfortunately, James was an idiot who ignored him and didn't seem to realise that a damn thing was wrong until Sirius yanked on his arm. Hell, even then he didn't get it. "Ow, what the- oh, hi Sirius. What's up?" he asked, completely innocent of his own misdeeds. 

Sirius grit his teeth. He would've preferred if James had known what he did wrong. "A word," Sirius growled, dragging him away. He wasn't nice about it, either. 

"Okay, you're kind of hurting me. Do you mind loosening up?" James said. 

Sirius ignored him and did no such thing. Being nice to his husband was a benefit James got when he wasn't being a total twat. He pulled him into an abandoned classroom and slammed the door, finally letting James go. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" 

"What? What did I do?" 

"You were hitting on Evans!" 

"So? It's not like she's going to say yes." 

"You're _married_." _To ME_ , Sirius almost added, but he held back. It wouldn't matter to James that he was married to Sirius, but it mattered that he was married. 

"You said that you didn't want us sleeping together to change anything." 

Sirius glared at him, the urge to punch him intensifying. "I meant that I'm not in love with you, not that you get to pretend you're not married, you bloody idiot." 

"I think you're overreacting," James said, oblivious to the way Sirius's anger rose sharply. "I've been flirting with Lily since I was eleven, and she's no more likely to respond positively to it now than she was when I started." 

"It's not about _her_. I don't give a shit about her." 

"Then what's the problem?" 

"Do you have any idea how that looks? How it makes _me_ look? If my parents hear about this, they're going to send me a bloody Howler. More to the point, if I ever catch you flirting with someone ever again, I'm going to hex your bollocks off. Got it?" 

"Erm. Got it. I still don't see why you care so much. It's not like anyone thinks we're in love," James said. "It's not like cheating you or summat." 

"You're not getting this," Sirius growled. Punching James would hurt his hand, but it would make him feel better. He was sorely tempted to give it a try and see how it went. 

"No, I'm not getting it," James agreed. "Why would you care?" 

Sirius grabbed his tie and yanked James down to his eye level, knuckles whitened from how hard he was gripping the fabric. "Don't. Do it. Again. Understand?" 

James swallowed. "Yep," he said, sounding strained. 

"Good." Sirius pulled him in and kissed him. It wasn't very nice. It was too hard, and Sirius still had half a mind to hit him. "I'll see you in class," he said, releasing his tie and breezing past him to leave the room. 

* * *

"I think Sirius likes me," James said. 

"Really?" Peter asked doubtfully. "Because he kind of looked like he wanted to kill you." 

Remus nodded. "Kill you painfully and get his brother to help him hide the body." 

"Yeah, but after he yelled at me, he kissed me. That means something, right?" 

"Probably means that he likes getting snogged," Peter said. 

"I think you're wrong." 

"Do you have any proof for that?" Remus asked. "Or do you just want it to be true." 

"Hey, we're shagging now. That's progress that neither of you thought I would make when we got engaged." 

They both blinked at him. "I would love to have that amount of confidence," Peter said. 

"Oh shut it," James grumbled. "He totally loves me." He could've done without thinking that Sirius was going to kill him before that realisation, but it was nice to know all the same. 

"Keep living the dream, Prongs," Remus said. 

"Get bent." 

* * *

Sirius blinked at the wrapped present in front of him. "What is this?" 

"A gift," James said. 

"Why?" 

"Because it's your birthday." 

"So?" 

"So you're my husband, and it's your birthday, and generally spouses give gifts on important dates like anniversaries and birthdays. Are you going to open it?" 

Sirius continued to stare down at it. James had gotten him a present. 

James took his silence as a no. "Alright. Well, I hope you like it." He leaned forward and gave Sirius a quick peck on the cheek, then left for class. Sirius didn't have anything in this time slot, so he was free to stand there and be confused. 

He got him a present. Because they were married and it was his birthday. That was... thoughtful. His parents had never given him any presents on his birthday before. James had even taken the time to wrap it. He knew that it was James that had wrapped it and not someone else, because it wasn't professional. The ribbon wrapped around the edges wasn't perfectly even, and the bow had crinkled in places from where James had tied it then redone it. He turned it upside down for a moment and noticed that some of the edges from the uncoloured part were peeking through. 

Sirius stared at the gift for a while longer. Longer than he would've done if anyone had been around to see it, but it was on in his mind on a loop. _James got me a present_. Eventually, Sirius had to open it. What if it was a joke gift? What if it was socks? Then he would've been standing here like a dumbarse for no reason. 

He slid the ribbon aside and tore open the paper, then stared some more. Chocolates. 

He tried to tell himself that that was a pretty generic gift, especially for a married couple, but it was his favourite flavour. White chocolate with cherries. That wasn't something James picked off the shelf at a guess. The Honeydukes in Hogsmeade didn't even carry this; they only had it at their location in Diagon Alley. James had gone _out of his way_ to get these for Sirius. There was a bar and some truffles, both of which they carried, but there was also fudge in the same flavour and a lollipop. He'd had to ask for them special. That took time. How long had he been planning this? 

And Sirius had never told him that these were his favourite, so how did he know? Regulus would sooner switch to Hufflepuff than he would talk to James, which meant that James had heard Sirius talk to _Regulus_ about how Honeydukes had been out when he went to pick up his school supplies for the year and then was sad about it. That was ages ago-- in the _summer_. James had heard him mention it to someone else months ago, and he remembered it. 

It left him even more speechless than before, somehow. James... liked him. That was the only explanation. Sirius had sort of thought that James was just playing nice this whole time, but he hadn't; he actually liked Sirius. Despite every reason not to. Bloody hell, how long had that been going on? Why would he like Sirius in the slightest after everything? It's not like Sirius had been the best roommate during summer, and now that they were at Hogwarts, Sirius didn't seek him out to talk. They had most of their classes together, and sure, they had to talk during meals a few times a week over whatever James's parents had sent them in the morning post. Yeah, Sirius snuck into his dormitory a couple times throughout the week so they could fool around, but... that didn't... oh fuck. He liked James too. When the hell did that happen? And how did he not notice until now? 

* * *

Sirius was smug as he leaned back. He wiped at his face with the back of one hand-- really, why did sucking someone off have to be so messy?-- and crawled up to be beside him. "Thanks for the chocolates," he whispered, kissing James's cheek softly. 

"Guh," James tried, then took a couple more breaths. "I think you sucked my brains out." 

"Good," Sirius said, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

James didn't respond for a minute. His eyes looked sort of glazed over. "Not complaining," he said slowly, "but you could've just said thank you." 

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. He laid his head down next to James's, on his side, and one leg curled over on him. 

He felt James shift to glance at him. "Sorry. Give me a minute, and I can get you off." 

"Don't worry about it." 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah." 

"...You okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" 

James didn't say anything for a minute. "I don't mind it, but you're... not acting like you normally do." 

"You mean how normally I run to the other side of the bed?" 

"Yeah." 

Sirius sighed. "I dunno. Felt like cuddling, is all." 

"Does that mean you won't get mad at me if I put an arm around you?" 

"Go for it." 

James tentatively put his arm around Sirius, and when he didn't get poked in the side for it, he relaxed. 

* * *

"You know what's weird? I think Sirius likes you now," Remus said. He had far too much surprise in his tone for James's liking. 

"Yeah. He was really happy that I'd given him a present on his birthday, so I figured more presents would make him like me more." It wasn't his best idea, but Sirius seemed to like the attention. Of course, his thanks usually came in the form of mind-blowing sex, so that was nice too. Not to say that the sex was the only reason he kept getting Sirius gifts. They got closer. Sirius actually cuddled with him now. He liked the closeness. Being able to hold him was-- not to be melodramatic-- a dream come true. He didn't think it would stop if he stopped getting Sirius presents, but he really did like how thrilled Sirius was by it every single time. Now, would he prefer that Sirius liked him just for him? Of course. But he was going to take what he could get. 

"So you've been buying him a whole bunch of gifts to make him like you?" Peter asked. 

"Pretty much." 

"What happened to winning him over with your charms?" Remus asked. 

"Bugger off." 

Remus, the unsympathetic arse, laughed. "Maybe you should get him a necklace so that he'll shag you." 

James didn't say anything, but something in his face must've given him away because Peter said, "Woah, he's sleeping with you already? You must be over the bloody moon. I'm shocked you've kept your mouth shut about it. How long ago did it happen?" 

"I'm not telling you pricks anything." 

"A while, then," Remus guessed. Peter nodded in agreement. 

"Bugger off," James said again, grabbing his bag. He'd go to the library to get his homework done since clearly he wasn't going to get it done in here tonight. 

He opened the door and Remus called, "Why don't you order him a necklace and he'll go down on you!" 

"Shut it!" James said, closing the door a bit harder than he'd meant. Things went from bad to worse when he turned and saw Sirius standing a few steps down, face close off. "Er." Shite. "It's not what it sounded like. Remus was just being an arse." 

"I'm sure," he said tightly. He had his own bag slung over his shoulder, and one hand was raised, holding the strap in place. His sleeve had fallen down a little, making the bracelet on his wrist visible. James had bought it for him a week after his birthday. Sirius had liked it so much that he'd ridden James that night, holding him close the entire time. 

"Sirius," James said desperately, "it- it _really_ wasn't what it sounded like." 

"Don't touch me," Sirius mumbled, slapping his hand away when it got too close. With a shaking hand, he took the bracelet off and slipped it into his pocket. When he looked at James again, he was glaring. "You don't talk to your friends about me. Not like that. Understand?" 

"I _wasn't_. They said that it seemed like you like me now, and I said it was probably because of the presents." 

"I fail to see how that helps you." 

"I buy you presents because it makes you happy! They were making jokes about it- sodding, buying sex or summat, but that's _not_ what it was." 

Sirius gave a short, unconvinced hum. "You don't talk about our sex life with them. Not what we do, what we don't do, or how often. What leads up to it, or what we do afterwards. Got it?" 

"I wasn't-!" James threw up his hands. "You know what? Fine. I promise. It's no bloody wonder you don't understand; it's not like you have friends." 

Sirius didn't say anything. He didn't change his expression. 

There was a little pulse of adrenaline with being such a complete and total tosser, and James clenched his jaw instead of apologising. He was pissed, okay? Sirius was accusing him of gossiping and talking shite about him to his mates, and then he didn't listen when James tried to tell him that he hadn't done anything of the sort. Sirius should trust him more. 

When Sirius silently turned and walked down the stairs, that's what James told himself: he should trust me more. 

For his part, Sirius was thinking that it would make Regulus's day if he told him that he could punch James. Since James would know exactly why it happened, it's not even like Regulus would have to dodge a return punch or anything. Pissed off as he was, though, he didn't want for James to get hurt. It would be satisfying for about two hours, and then he'd feel guilty. And instead of working through whatever the fuck was going on with James, he'd have to apologise. He wasn't in the mood to apologise, and he knew that he wouldn't be any time soon. 

* * *

Sirius couldn't have been more surprised to see James if he tried. Because Sirius was in bed. In his own dormitory. And James was standing there awkwardly, surrounded by green like he'd sworn he would never do. "What the-?" There was noise as someone passed by the door, and Sirius yanked James onto his bed and closed the curtain. Absently, he cast a silencing spell, then turned to James. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"Erm. Apologising," James said sheepishly. "In theory. You kind of look like you want to kick my arse, so I'm not sure I'll get it all out." 

"You're apologising?" He'd kind of thought that James wouldn't. He'd make some sort of gesture, Sirius would stop being mad at him, and that was close enough. Even if he _had_ thought James was going to apologise, he thought it would've taken more time. Not a couple hours. 

"That was the intention." 

Sirius blinked. "Alright." He leaned back, effecting casualness. He wondered if James had noticed that he'd put the bracelet back on. "Let's hear it." 

"I'm sorry I said you don't have any friends. Regulus is your best mate, and it's not like you can really get along with the other people in Slytherin because they're all arseholes." 

" _You're_ an arsehole." 

"Yeah, but I'm an arse in a way that's sometimes likeable. They keep... mocking you and calling you a girl. Say what you want about me, but at least I've never done that." 

"The bar is really buggering low there, James." 

"That's my point. The bar is low and none of them can reach it. So, y'know, I'm not actually judging you for not having friends." 

"You're not very good at apologising." 

James made a face. "Yeah. Sorry. I don't have a whole lot of practice." 

"Stop telling me that I don't have any friends, for one." 

"But... you don't." 

"Yeah, but I already know that. That's not what I'm mad at you for." 

"It isn't?" James asked. 

"No." He'd thought it was pretty obvious what he was mad about. "Why do think I'm mad about that?" 

"Because I said it to be mean?" James guessed. 

Sirius blew out a breath. "Look. You... you said that you didn't... you know. Tell your mates anything, right?" 

"I didn't tell them anything." 

Sirius nodded slowly and swallowed past the lump in his throat. "People just- they always want to _know_ , you know?" 

"Er. I don't know, actually." 

Sirius squirmed uncomfortably. "The me-being-a-bloke thing. They want to know every sodding detail. Who tops. If I left you touch me. If you go down on me. If I do it for you." 

"That's fucked up." 

"Yeah. And I get that we're married and you don't- love me or anything, but I want all of that to be private. I know it's normal locker room talk but-" 

"No, I get it. Really, Sirius, I didn't say anything to them. They were teasing me about trying so hard to get you to like me, and... yeah." 

Sirius wasn't entirely sure he believed that. "You're trying to get me to like you?" he asked instead. 

"Well, yeah. I thought it was kind of obvious." 

"It sort of was." 

"Then why are you questioning me about it?" James asked. "You're a hard bloke to understand, you know that?" 

"Comes with being so gorgeous." 

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" James asked hopefully. Merlin, he was so bloody cute. 

Sirius blew out a breath. "It's in the works. I don't think your mates like me very much, though." 

"What they don't like is that I talk about you all the time. They like you fine." 

Sirius hummed. "Whatever." They'd have plenty of time to get used to each other. 

* * *

James slid a small box across the table. It was a ring box-- that much was obvious. There was a small, professionally done bow tacked on top. 

"What is this?" Sirius asked. Since the whole blow up they'd had with James's friends over presents, James had stopped. Because Sirius told him to and James agreed. This was not holding to that agreement. 

"I know you said no more presents, but trust me, this one doesn't count." 

"How does it not count?" 

"Open it, and you'll see." 

"If I don't see, does that mean I get to push your face in a bowl of pudding?" 

James rolled his eyes. "Sure." 

Satisfied with that answer, Sirius pulled the box towards himself and opened it. Then he blinked. "This is an engagement ring." 

"Yeah." 

Sirius looked up at him. "Why? You do realise we're already married, right?" 

"Yeah but," James hesitated. Slowly, he reached his hand across the table. He hovered for a moment, then laid his hand down on Sirius's wrist. "I erm. I really care about you, Sirius. Even if we hadn't been forced into this... I'd still want to be married to you." 

He couldn't breathe. The room felt four times smaller than it had a minute ago. Had it gotten hotter? He was pretty sure it had gotten warm in here because his palms were sweaty. Where James's fingers were circled around around his wrist felt like it was about to burn. 

"I don't want to say that you feel the same way, but I think that maybe you don't mind me quite as much as when we started all this." 

"I don't-" Sirius stuttered. He couldn't _breathe_. He closed the box. 

James's face fell, but he smiled right after. He was smiling, but he looked more sad than Sirius had ever seen him before. "It's okay. I didn't think you'd accept, but I had to try." He pulled his hand back and grabbed the box, trying to take it. 

Sirius clamped his fingers around it. 

"Erm, Sirius?" 

He took a deep breath-- maybe the key had been getting the ring out of sight. 

James tugged on the ring box, and Sirius glared at him. 

"Mine." 

James's eyebrows went up. "Excuse me?" His grip went slack enough that Sirius could snatch the ring box out of reach. 

"Mine," Sirius said again. 

"I don't think you can say no to the proposal, and then keep the ring. I'm pretty sure that's not how that works." 

Sirius doubled down on his glare. "I didn't say no." 

"Saying nothing in the moment counted as an answer," James said, but mostly he looked confused. "And the answer was no." 

"Then I'm taking that answer back and replacing it with a different one." 

"And that different answer would be?" James was so buggering adorable. Sirius thought it was obvious that he was about to say yes, but James had an expression like he had no idea where this was going. 

"It's a..." Sirius chickened out. "Sort of yes," he finished instead of the complete yes that he'd wanted to say. He wasn't ready for that. He _hated_ it, but he wasn't ready. James was here, laying his heart on the line, and Sirius could barely meet him half way. He figured James would be okay with it though, considering how the rest of their relationship had gone. "I'm keeping the ring but I'm not wearing it yet." 

"But you do want to wear it some day?" James asked slowly. 

Sirius nodded. 

James beamed like that made his entire damn week. "Okay. Yeah, no, that's- that's great. You can take as much time as you need." 

Merlin, Sirius wanted to kiss him. So he did. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt driven blog @[imaginejamesandsirius](https://imaginejamesandsirius.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Feel free to drop by!


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